TL;DR: A GM flashback shows how blame-based, command-and-control leadership destroys accountability instead of creating it. Real accountability starts at the top–when leaders model learning, responsibility, and psychological safety rather than fear and punishment. I’ve written before about Bob. He was…
When I visited the Toyota Museum in Nagoya, Japan (see my previous blog posts about it), they had a display that includes a video that gives an overview of the Toyota Production System. I’ve seen the video a few times…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #460 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Philip Holt. He is currently Senior Vice President, Operational Excellence at GKN Aerospace, the world’s leading multi-technology Tier 1…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #454 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Damon Baker. He is the founder and CEO of the firm Lean Focus. He’s also a Private Equity Partner…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #451 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dr. Alan G. Robinson. He specializes in managing ideas, building high-performance organizations, creativity, innovation, quality, and lean production. He is the…
My friend Brian Buck is the most recent guest on the “My Favorite Mistake” podcast series, Episode 112: Coach Brian Buck’s Darkest Moment in a Workplace Turned Toxic In today’s episode, Brian shares his “favorite mistake” story about waiting too…
I absolutely loved the first season of the show “Ted Lasso” (available streaming through Apple TV+). If you’re not familiar, here is a preview: Unlike my “Lean Whiskey” collaborator Jamie Flinchbaugh, I don’t follow soccer, a.k.a. football — American MLS,…
My previous post in this series: A Lean Guy Gets Vaccinated at Dodger Stadium On Saturday, March 6th, I had the opportunity to visit two mass vaccination sites that were each being run in partnership with the UC San Diego…
I’d like to thank my friend Skip Steward for inviting me to be a guest on his podcast called “Connecting the Dots.” The podcast is one of their initiatives that’s intended to get the word out (internally and publicly) about…
Jay Hodge taught the Toyota Production System at a General Motors stamping plant in Indiana — then got a call from Toyota asking him to come work for them. In this episode, he shares what he learned about lean culture,…
My guest for Episode #400 is Jeffrey Liker, the retired University of Michigan professor who has recently released the second updated and revised version of his seminal book The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer. The new edition…
Lesa Nichols worked closely with Hajime Oba at Toyota’s Supplier Support Center (TSSC) and later became a production manager at Toyota’s powertrain plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. In this episode, she shares lessons from Mr. Oba on overburden, learning from mistakes,…